STAR-STUDDED COMICS was a long-running fanzine of the Silver into the Bronze Age that specialized in fan-created comic book stories. It was originated and published by a threesome of fans who became known as the "Texas Trio": Buddy Saunders, Howard Keltner and Larry Herndon. It ran for 18 issues from September of 1963 to the … Continue reading STAR-STUDDED COMICS #4 and the Birth of the Liberty Legion
FIGHTING AMERICAN is a well-remembered series produced by the Joe Simon & Jack Kirby Studio in the 1950s. It started out as a reaction to the revival of Simon & Kirby's best-selling patriotic super hero at Atlas Comics, Captain America--they figured that if the public wanted that kind of a character, they were better suited … Continue reading Simon & Kirby: When Fighting American Stole From Starman
Another title that I got a few issues of in my Windfall Comics purchase of 1988 was MYSTERY IN SPACE. It was one of a pair of titles edited by Julie Schwartz (the other was STRANGE ADVENTURES) devoted to science fiction adventures, a big genre in the late 1950s. This was the earliest one in … Continue reading WC: MYSTERY IN SPACE #54
Among the many comics that I acquired in my Windfall Comics purchase of 1988, there was a string of six or so issues of JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA from right in its earliest period. This one was the oldest of the bunch, #15, and it featured a story that I had read previously as a … Continue reading WC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #15
When I first started writing about the books I acquired in my Windfall Comics deal, I mentioned that they were all super hero titles. But it turns out that isn't 100% accurate. Because nestled in there among assorted issues of FANTASTIC FOUR and JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA was this one issue of BRAVE AND THE … Continue reading WC: BRAVE AND THE BOLD #45
The Atom is one of those characters who hasn't quite stood the test of time as well as many of his contemporaries. While he's still around in one form or another, it seems like attempts to give him his own series are sporadic at best, and often not long-lasting. In part, that's because of the … Continue reading WC: THE ATOM #10
Throughout the 1970s and beyond, one of the foremost new genres in comics turned out to be sword and sorcery. Inspired by the paperback book sales of Conan and his ilk in the mid-1960s, Marvel licensed the character from the Robert E. Howard Estate. After a slow start, the series really took off in a … Continue reading The Coming of Crom!
This obscure issue of Charlton's BLUE BEETLE series--not the version re-conceptualized by Steve Ditko but the earlier, super-powered version, seems like any other throw-away Charlton comic of the era--good for a few moments of entertainment, but not at all memorable for any particular reason. But this issue is noteworthy for being one of the earliest … Continue reading Brand Echh – Blue Beetle #54
This was another book that I bought at Bush's Hobbies, the hole-in-the-wall collectibles store that had a good stock of vintage comic book back issues, and which was not all that far from my home. I picked up this issue because I was interested in reading the Origin of the Justice League, one of the … Continue reading BHOC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #97
If there's one thing that DC has loved to do over the years, it's to explore strange story avenues and then abandon them. In some ways, that's become their history ever since CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS--it feels that you can't go but a few years anymore until everything you've read is thrown out and they … Continue reading 5BC: Would You Believe Five More Forgotten DC Retcons
The Tom Brevoort Experience 